An animal, a place, a plant. The Murray Darling basin.

This is a project my Son and I recently completed for his school. 

The requirement was to document an animal, a place and a plant that is part of the Murray Darling basin.

Red Bellied Black Snake

Pseudechis porphyriacus

The Red Belly Black Snake is glossy black, and sometimes has a very lightly tipped brown snout. The outer sides and belly is bright red fading to dull pinkish red.

Red Belly Black Snakes are found from the Northern parts of Victoria along the Eastern coast of NSW and southern parts of Queensland and throughout the Murray Darling basin.

They like to live near water. They can forage widely and males in particular will travel some distance in spring looking for mates. Although the habitat of this snake is usually in the vicinity of water, they can be found away from the river.

Usually seen to flee away from noise. The snake will often hide in water. While this snake may bite if injured or attacked, generally it will move away or try to bluff its way out of trouble.

The Red Belly Black Snake eats frogs, but will also take lizards and occasionally will eat other snakes. Red Belly Black Snakes don’t lay eggs like most snakes.


Wilcannia

Wilcannia Post Office 

Wilcannia was once an important and busy river port for western NSW. There are many historical buildings in Wilcannia.

The old centre lift bridge, the post office, the courthouse and the police station were all built in the late 1800’s and are all historically important. The buildings are built from locally quarried sandstone.

Wilcannia is located 965 km west of Sydney. It is on the very edge of the New South Wales desert experiencing only 250 mm of rainfall per year.

Half way between Broken Hill and Nyngan, Wilcannia is situated on the Darling River and is where the Barrier Highway crosses the river.

River Red Gum

Red river gum tree 

The river red gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis is the most widely distributed eucalyptus species in Australia growing along watercourses throughout the country. It lines the Murray and Darling rivers. The trees are usually 20–35 m high with some over 45 m, with a diameter of 1–3 m. The canopy is dark green. The trunk is brown-black with patches of grey bark. The branches are often twisted and the root system is often partly exposed.

The red gum needs to be near rivers that flood sometimes because that is how the seeds get distributed. Old rotten limb hollows, or broken branches, provide nesting hollows for galahs, cockatoos and various parrots.

The timber is a reddish colour with a strong grain. It is hard and durable and rots slowly. The hard, heavy red gum provides foundations for buildings, and timber for railway sleepers, wharves and fences. It polishes beautifully. The flowers are white to pale cream.

The Aboriginals used the tree for medicine.

The River: A Journey through the Murray-Darling Basin


Ecosystem Response Modelling in the Murray-Darling Basin


Murray Darling Finishing Salt - Gourmet Salt from the Australian Interior, Large